


I Promise, I'm an Adult

by CallMeHux



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluffy, Friends to Lovers, Modern AU, Thanksgiving Fic, prompted fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-23
Updated: 2016-11-23
Packaged: 2018-09-01 15:12:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8629096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CallMeHux/pseuds/CallMeHux
Summary: Prompt from Kacka: Abby is coming for Thanksgiving and Clarke wants to impress her but everything is a disaster so she calls Bellamy to help.When first time hostess Clarke needs a hand pulling off the perfect Thanksgiving, there's only one person she would call.  He just happens to the same friend she's in love with, but that's just gravy.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kacka](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kacka/gifts).



> Thanks to my beta, @bfl1201!

"Um, so, are you...busy?"

"It's Thanksgiving, Clarke.  So, yes."  Bellamy paused and she could hear him sigh.  "I'm guessing this isn't just a 'Happy Thanksgiving' call."

Clarke looked at the turkey currently sitting in her sink.  "Do you know how to thaw a turkey, like, super fast?"

She heard him nearly choke in surprise.  "Clarke.  Your turkey isn't thawed?"

"I...I got busy, I forgot to put it in the fridge 'til yesterday, but I guess I should have put it in water instead, because yeah, it's still, um, pretty frozen," she explained her current predicament.

Clarke was a definite Thanksgiving newbie, at least when it came to making the dinner.  Growing up, her mother and father had always made the feast, while she made elaborate centerpieces.  As an adult, after her father's death, she'd always been the guest at someone else's dinner, either her mother's or a friend's, where at the most she'd made a single dish.

But this year, she wanted to show her mother that her life was under control, that her work as a paramedic and artist was going well, that she even approved of Abby being with Marcus now.  So she invited her mother and her mother's boyfriend to her apartment for Thanksgiving, a small, intimate affair where they wouldn't be able to hide behind all the other guests and avoid real conversation.

Except now, Abby and Marcus would be there in four hours for an afternoon dinner and then spend the weekend.  And all the running around Clarke had done that week left her now with a mostly frozen turkey.

"Shit.  Um...okay.  Look, what food do you have on hand, right now?" Bellamy asked, immediately getting into his "problem-solving" gear.

Clarke opened her fridge, listing out all her ingredients.  "Everything I need for mashed potatoes, stuffing, I have eggs, and chicken broth because I was going to make gravy, but I read that having stock helps if you don't have enough drippings.  Cranberries….and I picked up a pumpkin pie.  Oh, and a thing of Grands biscuits."

"Okay.  I'm going to run to the store now, grab a bird and then I'll be at your place as soon as possible.  It's just you three, so with me four, right?"

"Wait, what about your Thanksgiving?"  She knew he was looking forward to being a guest for once, since Octavia was visiting Lincoln's family for the holiday, so he was just crashing the Millers' Thanksgiving.

"Obviously, I'm canceling on them and going to your place to help you out," Bellamy explained with a snort.  "Clarke, what'd you do?  Spend all last night making decorations?"

Clarke colored.  "No!  I got called into work.  Dan got injured on shift, they needed another paramedic," she denied hotly, even though making the centerpiece had pretty much been her only plan for the night before.  She'd gotten home late, fallen asleep and pretty much only woke up about an hour ago.

"Okay, well, saving lives is a good reason to be a disaster on Thanksgiving," he admitted.  She could hear his smile through the line.

"It's not a total disaster, is it?" she asked, wincing.  

"Nope, not at all.  Just...hold tight, I'll be there soon.  Actually, wait.  Get the potatoes peeled and into a pot to cook, boil some eggs for deviled eggs, cut up all the ingredients for the stuffing and soak the cranberries in water right away.  If that's all done and I'm not there yet, set the table."

"Right."  Clarke nodded, then bowed her head.  "Thanks, Bell, for giving up your Thanksgiving for this."

"Not a problem, Clarke.  Now get to work," he ordered lightly before ending the call.

As she began to follow his game plan, she felt herself relax.  Having a course of action pushed the panic down, gave her something to focus on while she waited for Bellamy to arrive.  As usual, she felt grateful, but also comfortable with how her dinner was going to go.  Between her and Bellamy, there wasn't a lot they couldn't conquer.

Hard to believe it, but she and Bellamy were always saving each other or, more typically, someone else, from some emergency or another since she'd moved to the city, after she followed her college friend Octavia to a place where everything didn't remind her of her father.  Bellamy might have been five years older than her, but once they stopped picking fights with each other just for fun, she found she had more in common with Bellamy than his sister.

Sure, they were both authoritative...or just bossy, whatever.  They both tended to think they knew better than other people, but then, they honestly  _ cared _ about other people and were willing to do anything to make other people's lives better.  Everything about their lives just seemed to fit with each other too.  She was a paramedic, he was a cop; she was an artist in her spare time, he always seemed to be working a novel.  They both had some serious drama in their families, but it just made them more determined to hold onto the people in their lives.

He made her laugh.

She made him relax.

Clarke figured out she was in love with him about three months ago, but he was dating Gina so she kept her mouth shut.  Gina was, in a word, awesome, and she thought the bubbly bar owner was a good match for Bellamy, teasing smiles out of him and reassuring him when he needed it.  She'd resolved to be the best friend, since Gina made him happy.

Bellamy deserved to have his happiness be the highest priority, for once.

But that relationship fell apart about a month ago, for reasons that Bellamy wouldn't talk about.  He tended to shut down when he was really upset, but she knew that he'd eventually tell her.  Just like when he'd been involved in a shooting two years ago.  At first, he wouldn't say anything about it all, but a few weeks later, he'd sat down with her and a beer and described everything that had happened.

So, she figured, when he was ready, she'd get the whole break-up story out of him.

For now, though, he was saving her ass, big time.

By the time Bellamy arrived, she had the potatoes boiling, the eggs cooling in the sink, the cranberries in a bowl and was chopping up all the stuffing ingredients.  He let himself in with his key and she heard his familiar stride as he walked into the kitchen.  

Clarke turned around just as he set the grocery bags on the table and froze as a wave of gratitude, relief and longing washed over her at the sight of him.  A frequent occurrence since her realization months ago, she had grown used to the feeling, like a bell ringing in her soul, of knowing that Bellamy would be with her for the rest of her life, whatever else may happen.  Whether their relationship turned romantic or not, she had found her partner.

Neither of them would face the problems of the world alone, be they apocalypses or  unfrozen turkeys, ever again.

Bellamy unloaded the bags quickly, pulling out a cellophane-wrapped bird that didn't seem large enough to be a turkey, along with a host of other food, heedless of her continuing epiphany.  He glanced up at her, brow furrowing in confusion.  "What?  I know I'm just wearing regular clothes right now, but I brought a change for your fancy Thanksgiving, don't worry.  I even have a tie."

"What?  No," she quickly denied, flustered and trying to get her tongue working properly.  "Um, uh...is that a chicken?" she seized upon a relatively safe subject.

"Oh, yeah.  They didn't have anything unfrozen at the store, turkey-wise, so I just grabbed a big chicken.  It's not like they had turkeys at the first Thanksgiving or anything," he described with a shrug.

Clarke frowned.  "Why's it all wrapped up like that?"

"I had them saw it in half, so we can cook it faster.  It'll only take an hour in the oven at 425 to cook through while still being juicy."  

She blinked, shaking her head.  "It doesn't have to be ready in an hour."

"But we have to bake the stuffing and the bread too. Also, probably shower and change for dinner, right? You have a warming drawer, so let's get the bread and stuffing done now, so the chicken will be piping hot when it's time to serve the main course," he explained.  He flashed her a smile.  "Don't worry, it can be tricky getting the logistics down on Thanksgiving.  Fortunately, I have some experience on the matter."

"So, they didn't have turkey, and that's why we're having chicken, but they did have shrimp?" she asked, pointing to the package he pulled out of the bag next.

"I didn't say that's why we're having chicken.  We're having chicken because the turkey isn't defrosted," he retorted amiably, walking the shrimp over to the sink.  "This is just another appetizer, so that we can be eating something with the salad I'll be making while we wait for the chicken to rest."

"Salad?" Clarke shook her head.  "This seems like...too much food?"

Bellamy merely wrapped an arm around her shoulders while gently steering her back to cutting up celery for the stuffing.  "This is Thanksgiving.  It's supposed to be too much food."

"Good point."  She straightened.  "All right.  Let's do this thing."

He gave her a crisp nod and got to work cleaning the shrimp.  

"And thanks Bell, for making all this work," she added.  "Just tell me how much I owe you for the food."

"Nah.  I'm actually starving, so I'm pretty sure I could eat most of this by myself," he replied with a shrug.

"Oh no.  You have to tell me how much," she insisted as she continued to chop, determined not to take advantage of him.  Well, anymore than she already was.

They argued about it for a bit, until Clarke decided to just steal the receipt from his wallet and Paypal him the money later.  But with both of them working in the kitchen, she didn't even feel rushed for time.  In fact, by the time her mother texted her to let her know they'd be there in half an hour, the only thing left to do was set the table and put Bellamy's tie on him.

"Can't it wait until the chicken is out of the oven?  I don't want it to fall into the food," he complained when she looped the material around his neck and made him hold still.  

"I can get the chicken out of the oven," she answered, looping the tie deftly and pushing up the knot so it could sit comfortably.  Then, because she could, she smoothed down the shoulders of his blue button-down, just for the excuse to touch him a moment longer.  "You look good," she told him, setting him up perfectly for the expected reply of  _ I always look good. _

But he didn't spike the comment.  Instead, he looked down, making his hair hang and practically murmured, "You look good."

For a moment, she thought his reply was just Bellamy being nice to her, trying to soothe her nerves before her mother arrived.  His gaze dropping first to her mouth, then her chest before darting back up to her eyes convinced her otherwise.

Clarke knew she should speak.  Use her words.  Talk to him about what she felt.  Ask him if he felt the same.

That's what adults did - they used words to communicate.

Instead, she lurched at him, grabbing at his arms to hold herself close and pressed her lips to his.

She didn't know it was physically possible to both melt and tense at the same time, but all it took was Bellamy returning her kiss, licking into her mouth and wrapping his arms around her to change her worldview. On. So. Many. Things.

When he pulled back, she whimpered and tried to follow, until he leaned his head against hers.  "I've wanted to do that for so long," he murmured, closing his eyes as he clearly tried to steady himself.  "But I think your mom is going to be here soon."

A giggle escaped Clarke, and then another, until she had to clap a hand over her mouth as she took a step back.  "Oh my god, I have the worst timing."

Bellamy rubbed her arms comfortingly and, she had to admit, the sensation of his hands running up and down her bare arms was undeniably erotic.  So was the knowing half-smile he gave her.  "Maybe, a little.  But my sitting on my feelings for months wasn't exactly good timing either."

She swallowed.  "Months?"

"Yeah.  I couldn't...I couldn't keep dating Gina when I really wanted to be with you," he admitted, reaching up to rub at his hair that he'd just smoothed down not ten minutes ago.

"Oh."  Clarke couldn't hide her smile and she knew it must look like the goofy grin on his face.

"You said your mother is really punctual, right?" he reminded her finally.  

She laughed, bowing her head.  "Yeah, very punctual.  And you're on shift tomorrow, right?"

"And Saturday.  But I'm free Sunday."

"The day my mother is leaving," she confirmed, still giddy.  

"So we can...talk then," he agreed readily.

Her face fell.  "Oh, talk."

"Well, among other things...right?"  Bellamy looked so worried for a moment, she had to laugh again.

"Right.  Sorry.  Just...well, you're my best friend already, so...I mean, what's to talk about, right?" she hastily explained.

A bright, warm smile spread across his face.  "So...that's it, we're together, as far as you're concerned?"

She smirked at him, bouncing on her toes.  "Do you wanna pinky swear on it, or something?"

"Or something, but as we've confirmed, your mother is about to be here," he drawled, tilting his head.  "Okay then, we're doing this."

"Good."  As the oven buzzer dinged, she grinned.  "I'll get the chicken, you finish setting the table?"

He nodded, then swooped in for another quick kiss before heading for the kitchen.  "We make a good team."

Clarke followed, smiling happily.  "Yeah, we do."

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Comments, critiques, etc. all welcome.


End file.
